Omar Isuf: is powerlifting the new bodybuilding?

[Arch0wl]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OUCUSmMZms

good points for discussion

[Reach]

On the point of genetics:

He's comparing competitive bodybuilding to casual powerlifting. Not really fair. IMO genetics are just as important in powerlifting as they are in bodybuilding. Some people are not built to be elite in particular lifts, and that's reality.

For every guy out there with the BBC genetics there's also a guy built to bench, squat or deadlift.


You can still bodybuild casually with shitty genetics without ever stepping on stage and a lot of people do this (Myself, Chris included in this). Mind you, Chris has pretty good genetics but mine are pretty average and it doesn't take anything away from it.


In terms of citing guys that are super strong and also aesthetic, he's also citing guys that are on huge amounts of gear (Mariusz pops dbol like candy man). Anyone can look good on tons of gear, so that's a bit misleading, especially when I would definitely argue that most natural powerlifters don't look like that. At all. Most of them do not have impressive physiques. There are a few that do, everyone knows who they are and they also do quite a bit of accessory work.

The best physiques in powerlifting are always bodybuilders competing in powerlifting (e.g. Robby Sardinia). The idea that you can look just as good as a bodybuilder without lifting with proportion and isolation in mind might be appealing but it's not really true. Omar's physique is a pretty good example of this actually. Not to hate on the guy, but for how long he has been lifting his physique is not that impressive and his arms are disproportionately small because he never isolates them.

Powerlifters have actually had pretty bad image problems for a long time. It's only recently that guys like Dan Green have cleaned this shit up, and now more powerlifters feel obligated to do more than just powerlift so they don't look like shit.


As for the atmosphere, I don't think the atmosphere at bodybuilding competitions is bad (I've been to watch, everyone there is really positive). It's just that you're scrutinized more on stage. Literally, you are up there almost completely naked with every detail of your body revealed. It's not like that in powerlifting. Some kid might get cheered on and get props for his 255 squat at his first meet or something, and that's fun, because powerlifting is generally more accepting of this kind of thing because it's not scrutinized on the same level. However, that's not competitive powerlifting either. That's just some guy lifting at a powerlifting meet. But nobody wants to do the equivalent in bodybuilding, which would be getting up on stage soft and lacking size.


A lot of the other stuff he said are good points though. Powerlifting is definitely blowing up, that's for sure, but I don't think it's just powerlifting. Bodybuilding is too...because it's fitness in general. People are becoming more conscious about this kind of thing, and I see a lot more nerds getting into this stuff than ever before.